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Updated: Aug 26, 2026
Classical Short-Delay Eyeblink Conditioning in One-Year-Old Children
Published on: September 1, 2018
Systematic temporal variation in the rate of spontaneous eye blinking in human infants
Leigh F Bacher1, William P Smotherman
1Department of Psychology, Oswego State University, NY 13126, USA. bacher@oswego.edu
Insights
Spontaneous eye blinking in infants increases during feeding and when viewing new visual stimuli. This suggests blinking rate may indicate changes in infant brain activity and cognitive responses.
Area of Science:
- Developmental neuroscience
- Infant behavior and cognition
Background:
- Spontaneous eye blinking is linked to central dopamine activity and cognitive states.
- Research on infant spontaneous eye blinking is limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate spontaneous eye blinking rates in human infants.
- To explore the relationship between blinking rate and cognitive/behavioral states in infants.
Main Methods:
- Observation of human infants aged 10-12 weeks.
- Recording blinking rates before, during, and after feeding.
- Recording blinking rates during visual attention tasks.
Main Results:
- Infants blinked spontaneously several times per minute.
- Blinking rate increased significantly during feeding.
- Blinking rate increased following the introduction of novel visual stimuli.
Conclusions:
- Spontaneous blinking rate in infants shows systematic changes related to behavioral and cognitive states.
- Infant spontaneous blinking may serve as a non-invasive indicator of central nervous system activity.
- Blinking rate variations correlate with responses to salient or novel stimuli.
Abstract:
The rate of spontaneous eye blinking, a putative index of central dopamine activity based on neuropharmacological and clinical research, has been linked to cognitive activity and behavioral state. Although many species have been studied, few researchers have examined spontaneous eye blinking in human infants. Human infants between 10 and 12 weeks of age were observed before, during, and after a feeding or during attention to visual stimuli. Infants blinked spontaneously several times per minute, and their blinking rate increased during feeding and after the appearance of new visual stimuli. These systematic changes in the rate of spontaneous blinking under controlled conditions suggest that spontaneous blinking rate may reflect reliable variation in central nervous system activity that underlies behavioral and cognitive responses to salient or novel stimuli.
